The Big Short: There Are Black People In It

The Big Short was interesting, and at times way over my head in terms of the concepts presented. If you didn’t know, the film is about the housing and credit bubble of the 00s and the collapse of the market (and very nearly the world economy).

Yes, I fell asleep for ten minutes near the beginning. And I nearly got up and left twice just because I was so bored.

But I powered through it and found the remaining 80% of the film to be worthwhile.

Although Adepero Oduye’s role was not a large one, it was a treat to see the Pariah star on screen. She plays Kathy Tao. (As of this writing, I have not been able to determine whether this was a real person or an amalgam of real people, or a totally fictitious character.)

Real reviews abound if you want a fuller review from someone who was awake the whole time, and Wikipedia can tell you more about the financial crisis. But as for me, I saw a black person in a film that could very easily have been all white men, and that’s good enough for a look.